Shutterstock

Shift turnover can be an important part of the day that allows the oncoming workers to be aware of anything important that is going on, but it can also be annoying to the workers.

What would you do if your management demanded a shift turnover meeting, but when you gathered everyone together in a meeting room, they said you couldn’t use it? And then when you moved somewhere else, you couldn’t use that either?

That is what happened to the team in this story, until it got to the point where they were meeting in a cramped back hallway where not everyone could fit.

This is such a frustrating story because it is the type of thing bad managers do all the time. Read through all the details and think about how you would react.

Petty retaliation by (not my) manager

I work at a factory. Some managers want us all in the factory at the beginning and end of the shift to pass our work off to the oncoming shift.

A controlling manager can make work way worse than it needs to be.

My manager doesn’t care where we do it. We are all willing to meet in person to do this, but being in the factory is not a requirement as there is plenty of office spaces available, and its quieter and more comfortable.

The argument from management is that they want us in the factory to start work as soon as we receive passdown from the last shift.

When the workers have a system that is effective, don’t mess with it.

Thing is, a lot of the time it’s a hurry up and wait situation where your work isn’t ready to move forward. Or, you need to use the restroom, etc. So, many people end up turning around and walking back out to the office immediately anyways.

So anyways, we are being forced into the factory for passdown now and we are all putting up with it. We had a fine little spot with ample chairs and space for all of us to sit in a circle and do our group passdown.

Moving the chairs to a new area is a reasonable compromise.

There are a few technicians (less than 10) that work on computers in the area we were meeting. After a few weeks, they complained about the distraction, and we had to move a ways away from them to a metal grated floor area with no chairs.

So, people started borrowing chairs from the first area of which there are plenty that aren’t being used by anyone. We could literally look over and see the old meeting area and all the empty space and chairs that were just sitting there unoccupied.

Come on, they aren’t hurting anything.

Last night, the night shift manager came in and saw all the chairs we had moved over and he complained about it.

A few of us spoke up and said we’ve been standing and walking all day and they aren’t using the chairs anyways.

This is the worst solution.

The manager had a pretty bad reaction when we asked if there was a better spot we could all meet.

This morning we came in and not only are we no longer allowed to borrow chairs and stay in the large area with the metal grates, but they shoved us even farther down into a cramped hallway where only about half can fit and the rest can’t and aren’t able to see or hear.

Unfortunately, his manager won’t stand up for them.

I brought it up to my manager and he agrees its dumb but it seems he’s a pushover and the night shift manager gets his way.

A spineless manager is almost as bad as a controlling one. It seems that nobody in management is able to look at things from the view of the employees and make a reasonable decision.

Read on to see what the people in the comments have to say about it.

Doing the meeting in the break room seems reasonable.

Never Miss a Story

Sign up to get our BEST stories of the week straight to your inbox.

HR might be helpful.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a craft store customer who refuses to take no for an answer when it comes to wrapping his purchases for gifts.

This commenter has a great idea.

A union could fix this issue overnight.

It is this type of thing that really makes the workplace miserable. If management would just look at their decisions based on how it impacted the employees, things would be a lot better.

Sadly, that seems like a lot to ask at many companies.

Add TwistedSifter to your Google News Add us as a preferred source on Google

Author

Michael Levanduski

Senior Contributing Editor, Workplace & Community

Michael Levanduski is a veteran journalist and digital culture specialist with over 15 years of professional writing and research experience. While his background spans emerging technology and complex technical subjects, Michael specializes in analyzing workplace ethics, property disputes, and viral interpersonal dynamics across modern digital forums.

Since joining TwistedSifter in 2024, Michael has authored some of the publication’s most widely read coverage on corporate policy, malicious compliance, and neighborhood relations. Rather than simply aggregating online debates, he brings rigorous research, organizational context, and an empathetic editorial voice to everyday human dilemmas—transforming raw forum discussions into insightful, highly engaging narratives.

When he isn’t covering internet culture, Michael enjoys traveling, keeping up with tech trends, and spending time with his family. Connect with Michael on LinkedIn and Facebook.